Tom Truxes’ “Defying Empire” is a Parkman Prize Finalist

Hartford, Conn. – Tom Truxes, a senior lecturer in graduate studies in history at Trinity, recently received noteworthy recognition for his book, Defying Empire: Trading with the Enemy in Colonial New York (Yale University Press, 2008).  Reviewers are hailing it as one of the best books written on New York City in the period of the American Revolution. 

Defying Empire was a runner-up for the 2009 Francis Parkman Prize, awarded annually by the Society of American Historians for the best nonfiction book on an American theme published the previous year.  The Parkman Prize is one of the preeminent honors awarded in the field of history, along with the Pulitzer Prize and the Bancroft Prize.

“Few writers can create history with such narrative drive and populate it with characters so vividly realized; fewer still can do it without sacrificing the rigor and integrity of their scholarship.  Thomas Truxes does it all in a book that can be read as much for delight as for enlightenment.  Defying Empire is a remarkable achievement,” reads the citation presented at the Francis Parkman award ceremony in April.

Defying Empire, Parkman Prize Finalist

In June, Defying Empire was also recognized as “the best book of 2008” by the New York American Revolution Round Table (ARRT), an organization comprised of writers, academics, and American Revolution enthusiasts.  Historian Tom Fleming, a member of the ARRT, called Defying Empire “the most remarkable history book I have read in years” in his review on the ARRT website.  The ARRT award was presented “in recognition of outstanding scholarship and valuable contribution to the historical record and better understanding of the American Revolution.” 

In a Common-Place review, Wim Klooster of Clark University called the book “one of the best books ever written about contraband trade in the colonial Americas,” adding that it “does justice to the subject’s significance and complexity.”

This non-traditional academic book covers wartime New York City through a variety of colorful characters while uncovering the truth behind forbidden trade during the Seven Years’ War (also known as the French and Indian War).  Truxes brings history to life through spies, street riots, exotic settings, informers, courtroom dramas, interdictions on the high seas, ruthless businessmen, and political intrigues. 

The academic world is lauding the book for its entertaining quality just as much as its scholarship. 

Truxes, who is working on his next book, The Overseas Trade of British America, said he is both “honored” and “humbled” by the praise his book is drawing.

For more information on Defying Empire, visit www.defyingempire.com. 

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